No “Surprises” Expected At Christodoulides-Erhürman Meeting On August 26

No “surprises” are expected at the August 26 meeting between Nikos Christodoulides and Tufan Erhürman, with the Greek Cypriot side reportedly set to “do everything possible to achieve results.”

According to Haravgi, citing “authoritative sources”, Erhürman’s statements on “resuming negotiations” could be viewed as a positive step in the right direction if they refer to the resumption of talks.

The newspaper said the Greek Cypriot side remained cautious because of Erhürman’s and Ankara’s positions to date, adding that political will would be determined not by statements but by concrete steps taken in the coming period.

The newspaper claimed that the Turkish side had in the past, when conditions were favourable for progress, at times adopted an obstructive stance instead of supporting the process. It also alleged that some of Erhürman’s statements were contradictory.

Haravgi reported that expectations for the August 26 meeting between Christodoulides and Erhürman were not high, claiming that the approach displayed by the other side, particularly Turkey, during UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ visit to Cyprus had prevented further steps that could otherwise have been taken.

The report said the Greek Cypriot side wanted free movement without controls or restrictions, with the aim of creating a “united territory”.

Meanwhile, Phileleftheros reported that the signals so far had not provided a clear indication of how the August 26 meeting would conclude or what steps would follow.

The newspaper said efforts were being made to preserve the prospect of continuing the process following Guterres’ latest visit to Cyprus, but that no concrete progress was expected from the discussions on confidence-building measures.

Phileleftheros claimed that recent statements by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan reaffirming Turkey’s support for a two-state solution in Cyprus showed that Ankara was not yet prepared to enter a promising process on the Cyprus problem. It also alleged that Erhürman’s position so far indicated that he was acting in full alignment with Ankara.